The Controversial Paintings of Amorsolo and Luna

Updated on January 29, 2010

I had a rewarding day last week when I accompanied my daughter during her educational trip. Every year, schools here in the Philippines
organize educational trips for their students. One of the sites we visited
was the GSIS Museum of Art in Pasay City, Philippines.
There were several exhibits displayed in the museum and the exhibits that
attracted me among others were the paintings of Fernando Amorsolo and Juan Luna.
It was the first time that I saw these authentic works of art of these
painters. As I look closely to each painting, it was indeed a masterpiece.

Fernando Cueto Amorsolo is a Filipino painter and
known as “The Painter of Philippine Sunlight” because his works capture the
brilliance of the Philippine sun. Amorsolo paints from within the Filipino values, character
and soul. He draws his inspiration from the life of ordinary people portraying
their industry, integrity and resilience. His pastoral works presented an
imagined sense of nationhood in counterpoint to American colonial rule and were
important to the formation of Filipino national identity. He painted a series
of historical paintings on pre-colonial and Spanish colonization periods. His
typical pastoral scenes were replaced during World War II, Japanese Occupation
of the Philippines.
This time he presented destruction, pain, tragedy, death and sufferings
experienced by the Filipino people on his paintings. Fernando Amorsolo was born
on May 30, 1892 in Manila
when the Philippines
was still under Spanish sovereignty. He died on April 26, 1972 at the age of 79.

His Styles and Techniques

Amorsolo is an incessant sketch artist.The artistic trademark of Amorsolo and his greatest contribution to Philippine painting is the backlighting technique. In a typical Amorsolo painting, figures are outlined against a
characteristic glow, and intense light on one part of the canvas
highlights nearby details.

His Legacy...

The volume of paintings, sketches and studies of Amorsolo is
believed to have reached more 10,000 pieces. He was an important influence on
contemporary Filipino art and artists. His art speaks well of the different
events in the Philippine history as presented in his major works like, Sunset:
The Return of the Fisherman (1939), the Afternoon Meal of the Workers (1939),
Assassination of Gov. Bustamante , Bataan (Historical place), The Bombing of
Intendencia (1942), The Building of Intramuros, Burning of the Idol, The
Burning of Manila (1949), El Ciego (The Blind Man) (1928), The Conversion of
the Filipinos ( 1931), Corner of Hell, Dalagang Bukid (1936), Defense of a
Filipina Woman’s Honor (1945), The Destruction of Manila by the savage
Japanese, Early Filipino State Wedding, Early Sulu Wedding, The Explosion
(1944), The First Baptism in the Philippines, The First Mass in the
Philippines, Maiden in a Stream (1921), The Making of Philippine Flag, The
Mestiza (1943), My Wife Salud (1920), One Casualty, Our Lady of Light (1950),
Planting Rice(1946), Princess Urduja, The Rape of Manila (1942), Rice Planting
(1922), Sale of Panay, Sikatuna, Sunday Morning Going to Town (1958), Traders, and
the El Violinista (The Violinist).

Furthermore, three of Amorsolo paintings are, at this present
day, displayed at Vatican City, Rome. One at the headquarter of the Vatican
radio and the other two at the Propaganda Fide. Propaganda Fide is a
congregation involved in missionary works and related missionary initiatives.
Having the Amorsolo painting at the Propaganda Fide highlights the special
missionary contributions of the Philippine Church in spreading the faith to
other nations. He may not be as famous as Michael Angelo, Rafael, Caravaggio and Fra Angelico but this should be another source of
honor and pride for Filipinos.

Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto (1892-1972) Gallery

Click thumbnail to view full-size

A Basket of Mangoes. 1949. Oil on canvas. 20 x 16 (frame 24 x 20).Amorsolo was famous for his portraits of beautiful Filipina girls.

Prinsesa Urduja

El Ciego (The Blind Man). 1929. Oil on panel. 30x 24 (frame 38 1/4 x 31 3/4)This work has a unique provenance, as it was commissioned by a naval intelligence officer who helped in the liberation of Manila during World War II. The work is extremely im

Sunset: Return of the Fishermen. 1939. Oil on canvas. 18 x 26 (frame 22 1/8 x 26 1/8)Sunset: Return of the Fishermen was done in 1939, at the height of Amorsolos career. The scene is Manila Bay, famous for its beautiful sunsets. Mount Samat on Bataan

Juan Luna Y Novicio is another Filipino painter. A political activist of the Philippine revolution during the late 19th century. He is the first recognized Filipino artist during his time.Luna painted literary and historical scenes, some with an underscore of
political commentary. His allegorical works were inspired with
classical balance, and often showed figures in theatrical poses.Luna is great artist during his time. He was the first recipient of three gold medals awarded in exhibition in 1884 in Madrid. In 1887 he went back to Spain and won again in the Exposition.

Juan Luna came from a rich family. He was one of those rich boys like Jose Rizal (Philippine National Hero) who had the financial capability to take formal or higher education in other countries. He could have contributed more in the Philippine art history but unfortunately he died at a young age of 38. He was born in 1861 and died of heart attack in 1899. In 1925, Juan Luna was reinstated as a world renowned artist and Peuple et Rois.His last major work, was acclaimed the best entry to the Universal Exposition of St. Louis in the United States. Unfortunately some of his paintings were destroyed by fire in World War II. He is recognized not only as an artist but as well as a hero in the Philippine history.

His Styles and Techniques

Juan Luna's paintings are described as being vigorous and dramatic and with romatic elements. His style shows the influence of Delacroix, Rembrandt, and Daumier.The great painters in the European art history.

Luna is remembered for a handful of paintings. Some of his historical works are “Spoliarium”and “Pacto de
Sangre” [“Blood Compact”]. There are allegorical paintings of Luna such as “España y Filipinas”,the “La Bulaqueña” or “Una Bulaqueña and the "Parisian Life".

So, here is the story...Three paintings were bought by GSIS (Government Services
Insurance System) government officials for its Art Museum sometime in October of 2002 from an
auction is Hongkong for 53.5 million pesos. Two of these paintings are the arts of Amorsolo entitled " Under the Mango Tree" and " Rice Fields". The other one is the painting of Juan Luna, "The Parisian Life". The Commission on Audit of the said organization found the buying of these paintings to be excessive.

For this reason, the employee association of the said agency filed a case against the President and General Manager of GSIS together with nine other government officials for graft and grave misconduct.The employee groups said that the officers of the agency is mishandling the monetary contributions of its members. The petitioners however, may not be aware that GSIS is legally allowed to invest its funds to valuable properties. Those paintings are valuable piece of heritage. The painting of Juan Luna, "The Parisian Life" for one is 110 years old. The painting shows Luna himself with national hero
Jose Rizal and Dr.
Ariston Bautista Lim in a scene described as the “last gathering of
great Filipinos on the eve of momentous events” in Paris. Luna
reportedly made the painting months before the three returned to the
country on the eve of the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain.
This a very valuable piece of heritage that should be owned by the
country. The purchase of those paintings are investments. Paintings must be seen not just as mere decorations but as form of investment.
Availability of these great art works benefits the local
artists.Consequently,development of talented painters and artists
should be supported.

The issue was exploited by some politicians and was a headline on major newspapers. The Court of Appeals however dismissed the case due to insufficiency of evidence.

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Jheica castro 5 years ago

thank for this information...im so very proud to a pinoy one...

jefe 4 years ago

you are right that the pieces of art that the gsis acquired and are good investments but if garcia used his 'intelligence' the price would not have reached that much because he was bidding against the owners of the paintings. check christies, they just sold another luna 'la espanola en el balcon' if am not it mistaken, it is older than the 'the parisian life'. luckily it was bought by a filipino